


Incipere

by Fandom_Trash224



Series: Twilly's Batman Fanverse [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, How do I tag that, My Universe, Origin Story, also some... lowkey bruharvey, for two face, harvey loses half his face, i dont know what else to tag this i guess?? like??, i looked at the rogues and batman then sat down and started writing, my city now, welcome to my hot batman fanverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 19:04:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14455788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandom_Trash224/pseuds/Fandom_Trash224
Summary: Harvey Dent was a good man.((I'm posting my fanverse works here bc Tumblr is Rude and won't let me post it there properly))





	Incipere

**Author's Note:**

> hi welcome to the first fic i wrote for my new Batman fanverse, which I have no name for atm. this was the first one i wrote bc i love harvey dent and he's very underrated.
> 
> also, please note that the thoughts and opinions of any characters here do not necessarily represent my own thoughts or beliefs. i am also not an expert on any type of mental illness, so i apologize for any inaccuracies or rude portrayals of any type of mental illnesses.

Harvey Dent was a good man.

When he was first brought in to prosecute a case for Gotham, people were skeptical. He was young, attractive, and had a friend in a rather high place. He was a prime candidate for corruption, and all of Gotham thought he'd be in the pocket of a crime boss by the end of his first week.

But he wasn't.

Harvey Dent’s promise, above all, was to help clean up Gotham, and that's just what he started to do. Several busts done by the ace policework of the newly elected police commissioner, James Gordon, combined with Harvey Dent’s determination to bring down the crime lords that run the city, made for a very, _very_ effective “dynamic duo of the law”, as the papers enjoyed calling them.

With the support of long-time friend Bruce Wayne, Harvey won his campaign to be the new District Attorney for Gotham, and it seemed that, for the first time in a long, long time, Gotham had a truly good man in such a high, influential position.

Good men, however, don't last long in Gotham.

One of Dent and Gordon’s largest catches was that of the infamous mob boss: Salvatore Maroni.

They wanted to _desperately_ get him on a charge of murder, extortion, coercion, _something_ , but in the end, what truly got Sal Maroni was his overconfidence in his bookkeeper. Records were leaked, evidence compiled, warrant sent out, and Sal Maroni was _finally_ tried in a court of law.

For _tax evasion_.

Not quite the way he wanted to get the guy, but hey, it got him, and thanks to the incredible talents of D.A. Harvey Dent, they got him behind bars.

The taste of victory had never been sweeter than on that day.

However, for another powerful man, this conviction stirred trouble for him. Carmine Falcone was _less_ than happy that these men were actively hunting men like him down, and even _less than_ less than happy when he actually managed to take down Maroni. If they could take down Maroni, it could spell disaster for everyone else.

So, he ordered his men to bring Dent to him.

Falcone spent almost the better part of two hours trying to get Dent to pledge his loyalty. In exchange, Falcone would provide him with whatever he wanted, so long as he only did cases Falcone approved.

Dent spent the better part of two hours refusing every time Falcone gave him this offer, oftentimes having to mumble a gargled ‘No’ through a bloodied mouth. Dent didn't know how he did it, the torture he endured only seeming like blurs in his mind, the only pain he felt from it coming from the aftermath. All he knew was that he had to say no, no matter what.

Harvey Dent was missing for almost three days before Batman finally found him, and at that point, Harvey was only half-coherent, as well as missing his entire left hand. He even growled at Batman when the hero reached out to him.

Harvey didn't want to blame Batman for not finding him sooner. Harvey hadn't had any cases lined up those days, no appointments, nothing. His wife would've probably just thought he was out on business, and even then, missing persons can only be officially reported after 24 hours at _least_. He couldn't blame them.

Yet, half of him wanted to. Half of him wanted to growl and bite and, God forgive him, kill the Batman for being late. Then, kill everyone that had hurt him, and finally kill Carmine Falcone.

What a morbid thought to have.

They were nearly to the exit when Falcone’s men found them, blocking the exit, and one of them sprayed what Dent and Batman had assumed was acid at the escapee. Batman tried to pull Harvey out of the way, but there wasn't enough time. The “acid” only hit the left side of Harvey’s body. Under different circumstances, this would be a disaster, but luckily for Harvey, the “acid” had been mislabeled gasoline. The accident seemed like something he could laugh about with Bruce after he got out of there, but the laughter died as soon as the lit match left the mobster’s hand, landing on his doused suit jacket sleeve.

Everything was a blur after that. The fire, the pain, the burning, the smell of his burning flesh, the faraway sound of Batman taking out the goons. He had hit the floor with a heavy thud, screams tearing from his throats like a dying animal. It felt like forever before Batman got the chance to help him, and as The Batman descended upon him, Harvey allowed himself to drown into inky blackness, no longer able to handle the pain.

It took nearly a week for Harvey to recover enough to be allowed to remove his bandages, and when he did, the doctor nearly fainted. Harvey managed to stumble his way out of his bed and into the bathroom, and saw a monster staring back.

For almost a full month, Gotham waited anxiously as its D.A. recovered from the awful attack. Carmine Falcone had a warrant for his arrest sent out, but it seemed he left the city before the G.C.P.D. could apprehend him. That frustrated Harvey to no end, but what could he do?

He thought there was no way he could return to his position. He was a freak, a monster, and he had a face not even a mother could love. He told his wife to leave Gotham, stay away from him and stay safe, and, because she trusted him more than anything, did. He was alone. He was done.

Then, Bruce came to visit him one fateful day. Harvey told him everything that had happened, and told him he didn't plan on returning to his position. Bruce was appalled.

“Harvey,” he had said, sitting on the edge of his friend’s bed “You love your job, don't you?”

“Of course I do, Bruce” Harvey replied, putting his head in his hands “But just look at me. They'll chase me out of the courtroom with torches and pitchforks.”

“Harvey…”

“I'm a _monster_ , Bruce. I look like I belong in some bad horror film.”

“You're not a monster, Harvey,” Bruce gently placed a hand on Harvey’s left shoulder, smiling encouragingly “You’re the District Attorney of Gotham, and one of the best lawyers, no, best _men_ I know, appearance be damned.”

“Bruce…”

“You're cleaning up Gotham better than any previous D.A. I mean, who else could've put Maroni behind bars?”

Those kind words, some of the first Harvey had heard in a while (aside from the false pleasantries of ‘Looking good today, Mr. Dent!’ and whatnot), touched Harvey to his core. But, something bitter twisted his stomach, causing him to snarl.

“I got Maroni on _tax evasion_ , Bruce. Nothing else. He’ll be out in five years.”

“Would've been less if you hadn't pushed for it. He may still be walking the streets if it weren't for you.”

He had a point. It was moments like that when Harvey was thankful for Bruce. The two had been friends since they were kids, and they were _always_ there for each other. When Bruce lost his parents, Harvey made every attempt possible to visit, even when Bruce would push everyone away. Now, Harvey was receiving Bruce’s help, and Harvey was trying to refuse it.

“You really want me to go back, huh?” Harvey said, his voice thick.

“I just want to support you. I know you love what you do: putting criminals behind bars. Besides, supporting you at your lowest?” Bruce smirked, getting up to leave with a slight billionaire flourish “That's friendship, bitch.”

Harvey snorted.

~~~

When Harvey returned to his position as D.A., there was a surge of interview requests and press conferences about who Dent said would be his next target: Carmine Falcone.

Even if he wouldn't be the one to prosecute, he would rest easy knowing that the one who had scarred him forever would be behind bars. He earned a lot of support from that, but, considering who he was up against, he earned nearly as many enemies. Didn't matter to him much: he was going to take them down, no matter what.

~~A morbid thought passed through his mind. He tried not to pay attention to it.~~

He spent nearly three months working with Gordon and Batman to take down the men that worked for Falcone, slowly closing in on Falcone himself. It seemed that everything was going to plan.

But there was still the problem with the left side of his body. Many tabloids and gossip websites would talk about it, saying that his wife left him because of it, saying it was fake, but the most annoying thing was that people were saying that he was actually _working_ for Falcone, and that the scars were a reminder of his place. It ~~pissed him off~~ frustrated him beyond belief. He vehemently denied his involvement with them, coming very close to ~~snapping their necks~~ losing his temper in various conferences. He began to bar them all at one point, though Bruce pointed out that only made him seem more suspicious, so Harvey allowed them once again, though reluctantly.

It didn't help when he began noticing large gaps in his memory, accompanied by horrendous nightmares, and some things that seemed _just_ off enough to make him question himself, maybe even his own sanity. Nevertheless, he persisted. He had a job to do. ~~No matter _what_ . ~~

The real bump in the road occurred was during the trial of just another goon.

Dent had been grilling him hard, absolutely tearing apart every alibi he gave, putting out evidence against him and witnesses who knew him, and he was about ready to put the man in cuffs himself and take him down to Blackgate himself, when the defendant said something that left the whole room speechless.

“Listen _Dent_ ,” he had snapped “the only reason I did any of that crap was because _you_ helped me! You provided me with the damn _guns_!”

The courtroom erupted into chaos, people murmuring as Harvey stood there, ~~betrayed~~  stunned. The judge called for order, slamming her gavel down over and over until the silence returned once more.

“Mr. Dent,” she said, a tone of warning in her voice “Is this true?”

“No your honor, of course not!” Harvey said, feeling quite offended that the judge would believe the accusations of a ~~sorry excuse for a human being~~ criminal.

“ _Bullshit_!” The criminal shouted.

“ _Shut up_ !” ~~Someone else~~ Harvey shouted back, a growl escaping from him “You’re guilty and you know it you slimy weasel! Stop acting so pathetic, and face your judgement with some goddamn _dignity_!”

“Mr. Dent, you are out of order!” The judge declared, slamming her gavel down as the courtroom erupted into chaos once more. Once the judge restored order again, Harvey looked mortified with himself.

“I apologize, your honor. I… I allowed my temper to get the better of me…” That had never happened before “... The prosecution rests, your honor.”

“The prosecution should _get_ some rest, Mr. Dent.” The judge replied, concern lacing the edges of her otherwise cold tone.

After the incident, the criminal was still convicted, but due to his testimony, further doubtful light was cast upon Harvey, which only increased his frustration.

Bruce had come up to him shortly afterwards, running to keep up with the fast-paced D.A.

“Harvey! Is everything okay?” He asked, and without a moment's hesitation, Harvey pulled Bruce into his office, and told him everything. The blackouts, the nightmares, the stress, the morbid and terrifying thoughts, _everything_. Bruce simply listened, his face showing nothing but concern for his friend.

“I… I feel like everything is slowly spinning out of control, like fate’s decided to screw me over right at the height of my career, right when everything was going _perfect_ . I… I'm so _tired_ , Bruce.” Harvey finished. He was practically on the verge of crying, at that point. It was only Bruce, though, so he didn't mind much. After several moments of Bruce digesting the information, he finally spoke.

“Harvey, listen. What you've been through… it's a traumatic experience. No one should have to go through that. You… you need a support system, Harvey,” Bruce slowly reached across the counter, taking both of Harvey’s hands in his “More than just me, Harvey. More than Gordon. More than your work.”

Harvey pulled his hands away from Bruce’s, apprehension all across his features.

“Bruce. Are you, of _all_ people, recommending I go see a _therapist_?”

~~You are too strong for that. **We** are too strong for that. ~~

“Yes, I am. Harvey, please, just _trust_ me. It will help.”

~~Hypocrite.~~

“Did _you_ ever go see a therapist, Bruce?”

“... No. I didn't. Doesn't mean you sho--”

“Bruce,” Harvey interrupted curtly “I appreciate you trying to help, could you do me a favor.”

~~He’ll hold us back.~~

“Whatever you need, Harvey.”

~~We don't need him.~~

“Get the _hell_ out of my office.”

Bruce opened his mouth to say something, but closed it once more, sighed, and got up to leave. Before he walked out the door, he turned back to look at Harvey.

“Hey, Harvey?”

“What?”  

Bruce paused a moment, a brief moment of conflict crossing his features, before he sighed again, smiled his billion-dollar smile, and simply said:

“Take care of yourself. Please.”

Harvey arrived home that night exhausted, confused, and even more ~~homicidal~~ annoyed than he had been all that month. He didn't even bother to put away his suit jacket properly, allowing it to drape lazily on the back of the couch. As he slowly undid his tie, he let out a sigh, moving to run his hand through his hair before remembering that he only had half a full head. The entire left side was still growing back slowly, only about half the length of the rest of his hair.

_We will get revenge._

Harvey let out a slight gasp at the thought as it passed through his mind. Why would he think that? This wasn't about revenge, this was about justice.

A dark, deep chuckle emanated through the room, and, with a flash of horror, Harvey realized it was coming from his _own mouth_. He quickly clasped his hand over it to prevent it from continuing.

The judge had been right. He needed to get some rest, but he also had work to do, didn't he? He sighed again. Another all-nighter, knowing his luck. _And_ he had run out of coffee that morning. _Shit_.

He walked into his bathroom, flicking on the light and turning the handle to the sink. He splashed water in his face to try and wake himself up, and once he was satisfied, turned the water off. He just stood there for a little while, trying to keep his breathing normal (though he wasn't sure why it wasn't normal), staring into the white basin of the sink implanted into the dark granite countertop. That's when he heard it.

“ _Harveeeey”_ A deep, sing-songy voice said. Harvey whipped around, desperately trying to find the source.

“Who-who’s there? Show yourself!” Harvey yelled into the empty apartment. The voice chuckled, and Harvey shivered. It sounded like the way he had chuckled before.

“ _The mirror, Harvey. Look in the mirror._ ”

Harvey didn't want to, but he did anyways, his curiosity getting the better of him. He only saw himself, but the view of himself in the mirror was enough to get his heart racing once again. A gasp escaped from him when he realized his reflection was smiling at him, the left side smiling much wider than the right.

“ _Hello, Harvey_ . _Nice to finally meet… face-to-face_.”

Harvey’s breath hitched. He didn't know how he knew, but he _knew_.

“You… you're the one who _framed_ me!”

The reflection scowled, growling slightly.

“ _Framed you?”_ The reflection said, voice rising “ _Framed you? I didn't_ **_frame_ ** _you for_ **_anything_ ** _!_ ”

“You did something that connected me to that man! You…”

Harvey trailed off, and the reflection chuckled.

“ _Oh Harvey. Naive,_ **_idiotic_ ** _Harvey._ ”

Harvey let out a slight growl, and the mirror scowled.

“ _Don’t be like that. We supplied him with the guns because we_ **_knew_ ** _he’d use them. We caught and convicted him. That's_ **_all_ ** _that matters._ ”

“It makes us no better than him” Harvey spat, then, catching his mistake, said “It makes _you_ no better than him.”

“ _It's_ **_us_ ** _, Harvey. I am you. You are me._ **_We_ ** _are_ **_us_ ** _.”_

“No!” Harvey shouted.

“ _Do you_ **_really_ ** _think you can get Falcone? We were lucky enough to get Maroni on_ **_tax evasion_ ** _, you really think your testimony is going to change anything, with all the doubt cast on you?_ ” A pause, and he gave a short chuckle “ _No, of course you don't. You're not_ **_that_ ** _stupid. After all, that's why I’m here now, isn't it?_ ”

“No, it's not.”

“ _No, it's not… I've been here a very long time. Ever since you punched that kid and ruptured his appendix, you've kept all the anger, sadness, any negative emotion, really, bottled all up and shoved onto another version of you. The_ **_stronger_ ** _version of you._ ”

“You're not stronger than me.”

The reflection slammed forward towards him, growling loudly, angry spittle flying from the left side of his mouth as he yelled.

“ _Do you_ **_honestly_ ** _believe you could've gotten through three days of_ **_torture_ ** _without me? Do you think you could've gotten_ **_any_ ** _of Falcone’s men without my intervention? Do you think you'd be_ **_alive_ ** _if it weren't for me? Huh,_ **_Harvey_ ** _?_ ”

When the yelling stopped, the reflection sighed, slowly moving back.

“ _I'm only trying to help you, Harvey. If we have to go outside the law to protect it, well,_ ” He spread his hands “ _It’s what we have to do._ ”

Harvey felt dizzy, but the reflection did have a point. Many points. Many _good_ points. He felt numb. He felt like he was on fire. ~~He felt…~~ ~~_something_ ~~ ~~.~~ He looked back down into the sink.

“Right…”

“ _Fight fire with fire, and pass judgement on all those criminals._ ”

“But,” Harvey said, through a moment of clarity “What if we disagree on something? What if we can't decide what to do? What happens then?”

“ _Leave it to fate._ ” The reflection replied, the words spilling from Harvey’s own mouth.

Harvey looked up into the mirror at himself, his heart beating like crazy. He felt… ~~**something** . ~~

“ _Harvey, together, we shall become the city of Gotham’s greatest protector._ ”

“We shall be the judge, jury,”

“ _And executioner._ ”

“We are no longer just Harvey Dent.”

“ _We are not just a shadow of the past._ ”

He stared himself in the eyes, and with one voice, he spoke:

“ _We_ are _Two-Face_ . We shall beat all criminals at their own game, no matter _what_. All shall face judgement. All shall _pay_.”

Harvey felt _nervous_ . The reflection felt _free_.

But Two-Face? Two-Face felt **powerful**.

**Author's Note:**

> up next is probs gonna be a riddler fic, and i'm v v excited to bring him to the party. come check out my dc sideblog gothamhell.tumblr.com and my main is fandom-trash224.tumblr.com


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